Aquatic device



J. JACUS AQUATIC DEVICE July 4, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15,1958 INVENTOR. JOSEPH JACUS BY m 7 July 4, 1961 J. JACUS 2,990,805

AQUATIC DEVICE Filed Dec. 15, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FEL7 INVENTOR. JOSEPH JACLUS July 4, 1961 J- JACUS 2,990,805

AQUATIC DEVICE Filed Dec. 15, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2 m V 3] LL ('1 wINVENTOR. JOSEPH JACUS BY United States Patent 2,990,805 AQUATIC DEVICEJoseph Jacus, 3095 NW. 90th St., Miami, Fla.

Filed Dec. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 783,636

1 Claim. (Cl. 115-263) This invention relates generally to aquaticdevices and is more particularly directed to a floating device adaptedprimarily to be propelled by the feet of an operator thereof. 1

A principal object of the presentinvention is to pro vide a floatingaquatic device which is novel in construction and permits a person topropel same by feet while in a prone position so that the operator mayobserve acquatic and marine life below the surface of the water, or ifdesired, the operator may propel himself while in a seated positionthereon.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a foot propelledaquatic device which is so designed to provide the operator thereof withcomplete comfort of operation whether lying prone or seated upright.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an aquaticdevice described as above wherein the propelling mechanism is adjustableto fit persons of different heights and may be removed from the deviceto convert the latter to a floating raft and the like.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an aquaticdevice which is simple in construction, economical in cost and mosteffective in the operation of the foot propelling mechanism.

With these and other objects in view,.the invention will be bestunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, with the understanding, however, that the inventionis not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of thedrawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes ormodifications mark no material departure from the salient features ofthe invention as expressed in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view'of a foot propelled aquatic deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view.

FIGURES 4 and 5 are rear and front elevational views, respectively.

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 66 ofFIGURE 3 shown with the propelling mechanism removed.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the stern of the deviceshowing the bracket for the propelling mechanism.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the foot propelling mechanism asseen removed from the aquatic device. I

FIGURE 10 is a bottom plan view of the aquatic device with the footpropelling mechanism shown removed.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to designatesimilar parts throughout the several views, there is shown my aquaticdevice which consists of a raft portion 10 and a foot operatedpropelling mechanism 11 removably mounted on the lower surface of theraft 10 as is explained in detail hereinafter.

The raft or float portion 10 is preferably constructed of a porousplastic material such as expanded polystyrene and the like, though anyappropriate materials may be used.

The raft portion 10 which is streamline in construction so as to offeras little resistance as possible to its forward motion through water isprovided with a prow *14 and main longitudinal members 15 extendingrearwardly on each side of the center line of the raft 10 to a crossmember 1 6 that forms the stern. At the forward part-of the raft 10, asecond cross member 17 extends between the longitudinal members 15 tostrengthen the raft 10 and forming a support for one end of thelongitudinal member 18 which extends along the centerline of the raft 10to the stern member 16. The longitudinal member '18 forms a support forthe propelling mechanism 11 as is explained in detail hereinafter. Theupper surface of the longitudinal member 18 is inclined down- Wardlyasat 22 in the direction of the stern of the raft 10 in order toaccommodate and support a persons body who will normally be lying on thelongitudinal member 18 with his legs astride same and extending throughopenings 19 formed between the longitudinal members 15 and 18. The crossmember 17 supports the persons chest whose head will be above theposition of an opening 20 formed by the longitudinal members 15, 15' asthe latter extend from the prow 14 to the cross member 17. The inclinedsurface 22 terminates in an upwardly extending surface 23 which acts asa backrest for a person who may sit upright while propelling the aquaticdevice 10.

Means are provided for removably and adjustably mounting the propellingmechanism 11 comprising a pair of angle bars 24 secured in parallel andspace apart relation on the lower surface of the longitudinal member 18at the stern portion thereof. The angle bars 24 form a bracket for apropeller carriage or support 25. The carriage 25 is provided withoutwardly extending flanges 21 which are slidably supported on thehorizontal leg portions of the angle bars 24. A locking device forsecuring the carriage 25 on the bracket 24 consists of a lock pin 26slidably mounted in a bore formed on one of the angle brackets 24 and abridge 27. (See FIGURE 8 Secured to the lock pin 26 is a disk 28 whichacts as a shoulder for limiting the inward sliding movement of the pin26 and against which one end a coil spring 29 engages, the other endengaging the bridge 27 whereby the lock pin 26 is yieldingly urgedinwardly to its locked position. The shoulder 21 is provided with aplurality of bores 42 along its length so that the lock pin 26 may bereceived by one of these bores '42 so as to position the propellingmechanism 11 at any desired position along the bracket 24.

At the mid-portion of the propeller support 25 is a gear housing orcover 30 mounted by bolts on each side of the support 25 wherein thereis contained conventional gearing mechanism (not shown) connecting apedal turning shaft 31 and a propeller 32. To each of the ends of theshaft 31 is secured a crank 33 on which is mounted a pedal 34. Thepedals 34 are provided with a foot engaging strap 35 to prevent onesfeet from slipping from the pedals 34.

The propeller 32 is positioned in a cavity 38 formed by rearwardlyextending and spaced apart arms 36 and 37 of the propeller support 25,the arms 36 and 37 supporting a rudder 39. The rudder 39 extends betweenthe arms 36 and 37 and is provided with pivot pins 40 which arepivotally mounted on the arms 36 and 37 for swinging movement of therudder 39.

The rudder 39 is provided with means for steering same comprising a tab41 mounted on the rudder at one end in alignment with the pivot pins 40and at the upper portion of the rudder 39. The tab 41 extends at rightangle to the rudder 39 where it is pivotally secured to a rod 43 as at44, which rod 43 is provided with a plurality of bores 45 for adjustmentpurposes.

The rod 43 is received by a tubular member 46 which Patented July 4,1961 is slidably mounted along the lower surface of the longit-udinalmember 18 by means of a bracket 47 secured to the raft 10. The tubularmember 46 and rod 43 are caused to be operated in unison by a lock pin48 extending through a bore in the tubular member 46 and one of thebores 45 in the rudder rod 43. The lock pin 48 is held in position by aleaf spring member 49, one end of which is secured to the tubular member46 and the other to the lock pin 48.

The forward end of the tubular member 46 is pivotally secured to aconnecting link 50 whose other end extends forwardly to the right sideof the float at the lower surface of the longitudinal member where it ispivotally connected to an arm 51 and a further link 150 as at 52.

The other end of the arm 51 is secured to a shaft 53 which is fittedthrough a bore 54 in the longitudinal member 15. The rod 53 terminatesin a cavity 55 formed in the top portion of the longitudinal member 15and is secured to a handle 56 so that rotation of the handle 55 willeffect a swinging movement of the rudder 39.

There is a second rudder steering handle 156 similar to the handle 56for steering the rudder 39, positioned adjacent the cross member 17 foroperating the rudder 39 when the operator is in a seated position on thefloat 10. The handle 156 is positioned in a cavity 155 and secured to ashaft 153 which extends downwardly through a bore in the float 10 andwhose lower end is secured to an end of an arm 151. The other end of thearm 151 is pivoted as at 152 to the rearward end of the link 150.

It is to be noted that upon actuation of either of the handles 56 or156, the link 50, the tubular member 46 and rudder rod 43 will slide inan approximate longitudinal direction to cause the rudder tab 41 and therudder to swing about the rudder pins or posts 40 and thereby steer theraft 10. Also, as described above, the position of the propellermechanism 11 can be adjusted along the track 24 without aflFecting thesteering of the rudder 39. For example, if a tall person wishes tooperate the device in a prone position, he can lift the pin 48 todisengage the shaft 43 from the tubular member 46 at the same time pullthe lock pin 26 outwardly to disengage the carriage from the bracket 24.Now, the propeller mechanism 11 can be slid rearwardly along the trackor bracket 24 to the nearest bore 45 on the rudder shaft 43 at whichposition of the carriage 25 a bore 42 will receive the lock pin 26 andconsequently secure the carriage 25 to the float 10.

On the left side of the float 10 are a further pair of cavities 255symmetrically disposed with relation to the cavities 55 and 155. Thereis positioned in each of the cavities a fixed handle 256 in order thatan operator may have a grip for his left hand whether he is in a proneposition or a seated position on the float 10.

From the above description it can be noted that my aquatic device can beused and propelled by feet by persons of any height or size either in aprone or sitting position by a simple adjustment of the propellermechanism 11. Also, if desired the propelling mechanism 11 can beremoved and a person using the float 10 may propel himself by the use ofhis hands, flippers on his feet or by rowing with an car or paddle as ina small boat.

That which I claim as new and to be secured by Letters Patent is:

An aquatic device comprising a body portion having a longitudinal axis,an opening on each side of said axis, an elongated member extendingalong said axis between said openings for supporting an individual, saidopenings adapted to receive the legs of said individual, said elongatedmember having an inclined surface extending downwardly in the directionof a rear portion thereof and an upwarding extending portion at saidrear portion of said inclined surface forming a backrest, alongitudinally disposed track mounted on a lower surface of said bodyportion at said rear portion, a propeller carriage slidably mounted onsaid track, locking means ad- 'justably securing said carriage to saidtrack, a rudder pivotally mounted on said carriage, a steering tabsecured at one end to said rudder, a rod, pivot means securing one endof said rod to the free end of said steering tab, a bracket secured to alower surface of said longitudinal member, a tubular member slidablymounted in said bracket, a link, pivot means securing one end of saidtubular member to said link, the other end of said tubular memberreceiving the free end of said rod, locking means securing said rod andsaid tubular member and a steering handle rotatably mounted on said bodyportion and connected to the free end of said link for actuating saidrudder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,650,497 Dayde Nov. 22, 1927

